Alabama Oyster Beds Decimated

If you're like my husband and consider one of the major benefits of living on the Gulf Coast to be the oysters, you'll be distressed by the report that "Alabama's oyster reefs are just about dead." Sunday's Press-Register reports that the two-year drought conditions upstate have resulted in decreased freshwater from rivers flowing into Mobile Bay, which in turn means increased salinity (exacerbated by the cut created in Dauphin Island by Hurricane Katrina). Saltier water means conditions are right for the predatory oyster drill to thrive. Local oystermen have appealed to the state for disaster relief. The only hope for a change in conditions is rain to the north.